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Dunkin' to add 27 units in Southern California

Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. on Monday revealed another round of franchise operators that will bring 27 more units to Southern California over the next several years.

The deals include a multi-store development agreement with existing franchisees Harry Patel and Parag Patel, who plan to open 18 new standalone Dunkin’ Donuts locations in north Orange County and the central Inland Empire, with the first scheduled to open in 2015.

The Patels currently own 11 Dunkin’ Donuts co-branded with Baskin-Robbins in Baltimore, Md., and three Baskin-Robbins shops in Orange County, Calif.

A second deal was signed with new franchisees Jeff Shady and Jordon DiBiase, who are planning eight standalone locations in the North Inland Empire, the first of which is also scheduled to debut in 2015.

Shady and DiBiase are Little Caesars franchisees and the owners of Coastal Business Group Inc., a telecommunications company based in Irvine, Calif.

In addition, Embassy Suites San Diego has signed a franchising agreement with Dunkin’ Brands to open a Dunkin’ Donuts/Baskin-Robbins combination unit at the hotel. The dual-branded shop is scheduled to open next year.

The move marks a continuation of Dunkin’ Donuts’ return to California. There were more than a dozen outlets of the donut brand there in the 1990s, but by the early 2000s the units had all closed.

Last year, a branch of Dunkin’ Donuts debuted at the U.S. Marine base at Camp Pendleton in Southern California. At the time, the company said it was a one-off nontraditional location, but the opening was widely celebrated by Dunkin’ Donuts fans.

The Canton, Mass.-based company also opened a distribution center in Phoenix to support the planned growth throughout the West, which has included recent moves into Utah, Colorado and Texas.

Dunkin’ Brands began recruiting Dunkin’ Donuts franchisees for Southern California in January, saying there is potential to reach as many as 1,000 of the donut shops in that region alone. Baskin-Robbins, a California-born brand, already has about 250 locations there.

In July, the company announced the planned development of 45 new Dunkin’ Donuts locations in Southern California with four franchise operators:

--Frontier Group, led by Dan Almquist and Robert Jonas, are planning 18 units in Orange County and the South Bay region of Los Angeles County;

--Gary Haar, who operates both brands in New Jersey, and partner Steve Silverstein plan 10 units in West Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Hollywood and Malibu;

--Danny and Coby Sonenshine, founders of the Prell Restaurant Group, plan 16 units in central Los Angeles and the San Gabriel Valley;

--Jason Duffy and Bert Hayenga are working on a location in the Barstow Station building in Barstow, Calif.

At the end of its second quarter, Dunkin’ Brands had more than 10,600 Dunkin’ Donuts locations and more than 7,000 Baskin-Robbins units worldwide. Dunkin’ Donuts had systemwide sales of $6.9 billion in 2012.